Senior Director, Talent Business Partners

About the Role

APCO is seeking a Senior Director, Talent Business Partners to lead, shape, and develop its global Talent Business Partner function. This is a senior leadership role within the global Talent team, responsible for building a high-performing business partnering model that helps leaders make stronger decisions about organization design, workforce planning, leadership capability, succession, engagement, performance, and talent risk.

Reporting to the Chief Talent Officer, the Senior Director will lead a team of Talent Business Partners supporting APCO’s global regions and business areas, while also carrying a senior client portfolio directly. This is a senior leadership position with responsibility for leading, coaching, and holding accountable experienced HR and Talent leaders, including senior Talent Business Partners operating across regions and functions. The role requires a commercially minded strategic advisor who can build credibility with senior leaders, raise the capability of other senior HR professionals, and help reposition the function from reactive HR support to proactive, insight-led advisory.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a global, matrixed, professional services environment where business priorities move quickly and people decisions have direct impact on client service, growth, and organizational performance. The role will require approximately 20% travel to support global stakeholder engagement, team leadership, regional alignment and key business priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Business Partner Team Leadership

• Lead, develop, coach and set clear expectations for a global team of Talent Business Partners, including senior HR and Talent leaders.
• Set clear expectations for strategic advisory, stakeholder management, client service, data-led insight, business acumen, executive communication and quality of execution.

Operating Model and Team Design

• Evaluate and strengthen the Talent Business Partner operating model so it provides clear, consistent and effective support across regions, functions and business priorities.
• Define what excellent Talent Business Partnering looks like at APCO, including how Talent Business Partners engage with leaders and where they add the most value.
• Clarify ways of working across Talent Business Partners, Centers of Excellence, systems and self-service channels to improve speed, consistency and accountability.

Senior Stakeholder Advisory

• Partner directly with senior leaders across APCO’s corporate and internal functions on organizational design, workforce planning, leadership effectiveness, succession, performance, engagement and talent risk.
• Directly carry the corporate and internal functions leadership portfolio, including the COO, CEO, CFO, CIO, Legal, Risk and enabling function heads globally.
• Act as the strategic Talent advisor to corporate and enabling function leaders on complex people, organization and workforce matters.

Transformation and Change Leadership

• Lead the transformation of the Talent Business Partner function from a transactional model to a proactive, insight-led advisory model.
• Build trust with Managing Directors, practice leaders and senior executives by demonstrating the value of strategic Talent advisory.
• Guide the function through a practical change journey, including capability diagnosis, development planning, early advisory wins and stakeholder expectation management.
• Help leaders understand how to use the Talent Business Partner model effectively.

Capability Building and Coaching

• Coach Talent Business Partners to build stronger advisory capability, use data effectively and engage leaders with confidence and commercial understanding.
• Strengthen the team through coaching, feedback, performance management, knowledge sharing and clear standards.
• Build shared expectations for business acumen, judgment, global fluency and executive communication.

Partnership with Talent Centers of Excellence

• Serve as a bridge between the business and APCO’s Talent Centers of Excellence.
• Ensure firmwide programs are translated into practical, relevant and effective guidance for leaders and teams.
• Partner with Centers of Excellence so global programs, frameworks, policies and processes are clearly communicated and implemented effectively.
• Balance local market requirements with firmwide consistency.

Data, Insight, and Workforce Analytics

• Use workforce analytics, Oracle HCM data, engagement insights, retention trends, succession data and other people metrics to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Bring a clear talent point of view to leadership conversations.
• Use data to shape practical recommendations, mitigate risk and influence senior leadership decisions.

Organizational Effectiveness and Change Support

• Support organizational change across regions and functions, including market growth, leadership transitions, evolving operating models, performance challenges and workforce planning decisions.
• Advise leaders on the talent implications of business change.
• Help ensure people decisions support APCO’s broader growth and transformation priorities.

Talent Operating Model Adoption

• Champion APCO’s Talent operating model and help leaders understand how to engage effectively with the function.
• Act as a visible ambassador for the model.
• Clarify what support sits with Talent Business Partners, what sits with Centers of Excellence, and how self-service tools and systems should be used to improve speed, clarity and accountability.

What Success Looks Like

• The Talent Business Partner team has a clear operating model, defined scope, consistent ways of working, and the capability to operate as strategic advisors rather than transactional support.
• Senior leaders view their Talent Business Partners as trusted advisors and involve them early in decisions that have significant people or organizational implications.
• The team structure reflects the complexity of APCO’s global footprint, including regional employment law, regulatory requirements, cultural context, and business need.
• Talent Business Partners are using data, business insight, and sound judgment to improve outcomes across retention, engagement, succession, organizational effectiveness, and leadership capability.
• APCO’s Talent Centers of Excellence receive clear field feedback, and business leaders experience talent programs as relevant, practical, and well implemented.
• Talent programs are implemented with stronger business adoption because the Talent Business Partner team is translating firmwide priorities into practical, leader-ready guidance.
• • The function is recognized for improving business outcomes, including stronger leadership decisions, clearer workforce planning, better succession visibility, more effective organizational change, and improved retention and engagement insight.

Required Qualifications

The successful candidate will be an experienced strategic advisor and people leader who is energized by strengthening and maturing a global function. They will be comfortable operating with senior leaders, shaping a function in real time, and helping both a team and its internal clients adopt a more strategic way of working. They will bring global fluency, sound judgment, data confidence, and the leadership range to stretch a team while keeping it supported and focused.

Skills and Experience

• 15+ years of progressive HR, Talent, or People experience in a global, matrixed environment, including at least five years in a global HR leadership position leading other senior leaders.
• Professional services, advisory, consulting, or similarly complex client-service experience is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience advising senior executives, Managing Directors, or equivalent business leaders on talent, organization, leadership, and workforce issues.
• Proven experience leading and developing senior HR or Talent professionals, including setting expectations, building capability, managing performance, supporting career growth, and creating a high-performance leadership culture across a distributed team.
• Track record of moving an HR or Talent function from a transactional model to a more strategic advisory model.
• Strong understanding of global HR considerations, including multi-jurisdiction employment law, regulatory environments, local market context and regional operating requirements.
• Ability to use people analytics and workforce data to shape recommendations and influence business decisions.
• Experience with Oracle HCM or a comparable enterprise HRIS; comfort working in an AI-enabled self-service environment is preferred.
• Strong judgment, communication skills and the ability to build credibility and trust with senior stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; master’s degree in HR, organizational development, business or a related field preferred. SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD or equivalent professional certification is a plus.
• Experience working across multiple regions or jurisdictions is important, including the judgment to know when to adapt global approaches for local market realities and when to maintain firmwide consistency.
• The ideal candidate will be confident using HR systems and people data to support decision-making, while also bringing the judgment, relationship skills and communication approach required to influence experienced senior leaders.

APCO targets an employee's pay within this range to be based on several factors, which include but are not limited to relevant education, skills, job-related knowledge, qualifications, work experience, credentials, internal equity and/or geographic location.

The base salary for this position will depend on the candidates work location:

• Washington, DC: $195,000/year to $255,000/year
• New York City, NY: $208,000/year to $272,000/year

In addition to base salary, APCO offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, well-being and financial security of our employees and their families. Benefits for eligible US employees include medical and prescription drug coverage, dental and vision coverage, health and dependent flexible spending accounts, life and disability insurance, a 401(k) retirement savings plan, employee assistance and wellness resources, commuter benefits, additional voluntary benefit options and a generous holiday schedule with a flexible time off plan.

What We Bring You

At APCO, you will have the opportunity to work on meaningful client challenges alongside talented colleagues across our global network. We invest in our people through learning and development programs, mentorship, coaching and ongoing opportunities to build new skills and experiences.

APCO offers a collaborative and inclusive environment where individuals are encouraged to bring curiosity, empathy, boldness and inclusivity to their work. In addition to competitive compensation and benefits, APCO provides workplace flexibility, global collaboration opportunities and a culture that supports professional growth and career development.

Careers at APCO

Through our recruitment, hiring and retention efforts, APCO is committed to building teams who bring the best possible expertise and robust perspectives to our clients. We embrace differences in experience, viewpoint and ideas, starting with our values and extending to our behaviors, policies and practices. We aim to create a positive work experience and welcoming environment where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.